A Tale Of Two Sisters Part 1
by CharmedMoon84
Summary: From concievement to birth and beyond, follow Kim and her husband as they deal with raising fraternal twin daughters Ava and Ivy. Will be divided into two parts.
1. Beginning of Two Tiny Lives

A/N- I apologize for the constant repostings of this single story, but I keep finding fault with each posting of it, so this will be the absolute last time I delete and reupload this fic.

Held in her husband's arms after a night of intense and passion filled lovemaking, twenty three year old Kim stirred in his embrace as the early morning sunlight washed across her face from the window that was near the bed she and her husband had shared for the last two years.

She shifted her gaze to her blonde haired husband, whose face was close to hers and she felt the warmth of his breath on her skin as he exhaled slightly in his sleep. She lightly brushed aside a stray lock of hair that had fallen across his forehead with her fingertips.

_'How did I get so lucky to have him claim me as his own?' _ she thought to herself, feeling a warm rush of love for the man currently lying beside her in the bed fill her whole body.

_'We've gone through so much together over the years that I couldn't imagine my life without him,' _ she added silently.

She continued to watch her still sleeping husband while her thoughts shifted to the events of the previous night. After two years of marriage, she and her husband had often talked of having a child together.

_'Hopefully, last night's love making session will have been successful in creating a child,' _ Kim told herself.

But she was unaware that their moment of passion the night before had created not one, but two tiny lives deep within her body.


	2. A Suspected Pregnancy

Kim studied her reflection in the bathroom's floor length mirror as her hands gently splayed across her currently flat stomach. It had been three weeks since she and her husband had shared a night of passion together.

_'I should have had my cycle by now,' _ she found herself thinking.

Her gaze shifted from her hands that had splayed across her flat stomach and she noticed the glow reflected in both her eyes and face. At seeing that glow, she suddenly realized the true reason as to why her monthly cycle had failed to come last week.

_'A baby. He'd be thrilled to become a father."_

As she continued standing in front of the bathroom's floor length mirror, she found that her image wasn't the only one reflected in the mirror. Her husband now stood behind her and had wrapped his arms around her waist before resting his chin on her shoulder.

"You look so beautiful, honey," he murmured into her ear.

"Will you still see me as beautiful in eight months?" she found herself asking.

The moment she'd asked her question, she saw his eyes widen slightly and she winced at her carelessly spoken words.

_'Why couldn't I have found some other way to tell him he's gonna be a father in eight months?'_ she silently berated herself.

"Y-you're pregnant, honey?" he managed to ask after spending a few moments in stunned silence.

"I would've preferred to have you find out some other way, but yes, I'm pretty sure I'm pregnant. My monthly cycle should have been last week, but I never got it."

"Take a pregnancy test, just to double check, honey. For me?"


	3. We're Pregnant!

Two days after her husband's suggestion that she use a pregnancy test to reconfirm that she was indeed pregnant, Kim stared down at the tiny pink plus sign that meant she was pregnant and felt a wave of elation flood through her before she left the bathroom with the pregnancy test in one hand and made her way down the hallway towards the living room, where she found her husband seated on the couch in front of the tv. She briefly blocked his view of the tv as she took a seat beside him on the couch.

"I just got the results of the pregnancy test, honey," she said softly.

His gaze shifted from the tv to her.

"What?"

In reply, she silently handed him the pregnancy test, which he took and his gaze drifted down to the tiny pink plus sign that meant pregnancy. He stared at it for a few minutes before his gaze went back to her for confirmation. She grinned and nodded.

"The test confirmed my suspicions. We're gonna have a baby, honey."

"Or it could be twins, given your parents' history."

"Don't tease me, honey. The odds of us also having twins like my mom isn't that common."

He placed his hand on top of her knee.

"Trust me. We're gonna have twins. I can feel it."

Her gaze met his.

"How can you be sure?"

"Because I passed along more then my genetics that night we expressed our love for each other a few weeks ago," he told her softy.


	4. Nine Month Maternity Leave

A month into her present pregnancy, Kim stood beside her husband, whose left hand was currently clasped within her right hand as they both faced the seated woman behind the desk.

"I've been thinking about your request to both retire and I've come to a decsion."

She paused slightly.

"Kim, you're an asset to my organization, but given your current condition, I've put you on a nine month leave of absence. As for your husband, he's still needed to take on certain assignments from time to time, so I can't extend your nine month leave of absence to him also."

The mother to be exchanged a look with her husband and father of her unborn offspring.

"So, you're sending my husband off on missions that might put his life at risk while I'm stuck on maternity leave?" she asked.

"I'm sorry if that makes you unhappy, Kim. But I stand by my decsion."

"That's not fair! What if something were to happen to my husband? I'd be left to raise his unborn offspring, not to mention being devastated by his death."

"He wouldn't be sent on overly dangerous missions. I give you my word on that and that he'll stay stateside for any mission he's needed to go on, so he wouldn't be more then a few hours away from you and home."

A glance at his wife told the blonde young man standing next to her that she wasn't too happy about the arrangement.

"Thank you, ma'am," he told their boss before guiding his wife out of the room.

Once outside the room, Kim faced her husband, fury at their boss' decsion glinting in her jade eyes.

"How dare she decide to send you on dangerous missions that could endanger your life while I'm stuck on a nine month leave of absence!" she exclaimed in a loud voice, which caused some of the other agents in the room to glance in their direction.

"Honey, please calm down and lower your voice," her husband told her.

She turned her head and gave her husband a mild glare.

"Don't you dare tell me to calm down!" she hissed at him.

"All this agaitation isn't good for you or the twins," he told her in a low voice.


	5. Hubby's Solo Mission

Two months after their boss had made her decsion, Kim sat on the bed she shared with her husband, watching him get suited up and found herself unable to keep from voicing her intense desire to accompany him. Hearing the pleading note creep into her voice, he halted in preparing to head out of town on an urgent mission and frowned deeply at her.

"Absolutely not," he told her firmly.

"If I can't go with you, at least stay at home with me," she begged.

He paused with his current task and took a seat next to her on the bed before taking her hands in his.

"If you weren't three months pregnant, I'd say yes and have you accompany me on this mission, honey. You know that."

"I know, but for you to go all the way to North Dakota for a few days is too long for me to be without you."

He cupped her face in his hands and softly kissed her on the forehead.

"It's only for a couple of days, sweetheart. I'll be back before you know it."

She looked into his brown eyes.

"Promise me that you'll be extremely careful and come home to me safe and sound," she begged him in a voice that had become choked with tears and her eyes became a little misty.

He looked into her eyes and promised her that he would be extra careful and come home unscathed. Their lips met briefly before he rose from the bed and left their bedroom on his way out of the house.


	6. Choosing Names

Lying awake in the bed she shared with her husband, Kim stared up at the ceiling, waiting for her husband's return home. He'd been called away on a sudden mission that had been caused by a robbery that had occured in the next town over. She was now four months pregnant and only had five months left to go until she was released from being on maternity leave. She had admitted her feelings of being extremely jealous and annoyed at not being able to be by her husband's side the last time he'd been home.

Her thoughts were suddenly cut short by one of the twins moving around in her slightly rounded belly. Feeling the slight movement within her made her smile a little.

_'Hello, my little darlings,' _ she thought happily.

She picked up one of the numerous baby books that she kept within arm's reach. Her mom had been insistent that Kim keep up with taking as many vitamins as she could as well as eating healthy enough for both herself and the twins she carried within her belly.

She had also discussed baby names for their two children with her husband when he was home last and they both agreed on keeping the tradition of giving their twin children three lettered names.

Her thoughts soured slightly as she remembered the ultrasound from the week before where she had discovered that there had been two heartbeats, an ultrasound that her husband had been unable to be present for. But then, she felt guilty for having those bad thoughts, even for a brief time. Just then, Kim knew what to name her unborn twins.

"Ava Alison and Ivy Michelle," she said softly to the empty air around her.

"Ava and Ivy suit the twins perfectly, honey," her husband's voice said from the doorway.

Startled by her husband's sudden arrival, she jumped slightly while her jade eyed gaze met with his earth colored eyes.


	7. Flashback

Now in her fifth month of pregnancy, Kim lay awake in the confines of her husband's warm arms, her eyes on the bedroom ceiling. She relished the few occasions he was home and not up against some deadly enemy or assisting the local cops on something. But she'd also spent a number of sleepless nights when he wasn't home, due to her being worried about him.

Now that she was showing, she no longer slept on her stomach or side to avoid causing discomfort to the two babies currently in her belly. In the five months since she'd been put on maternity leave, both she and her husband had had numerous lovers' spats between them, the most recent one being a couple of weeks ago.

Flashback

_Seated on the couch that faced the front door, Kim was waiting for her husband's arrival home. She didn't have to wait very long, because she saw car headlights pulling into the driveway, only to have them be shut off a few moments later, followed by her husband walking through the front door. She noticed the tears and burn marks that had turned his traditional black mission shirt into tattered strips, but he seemed largely unhurt for the most part. _

_Relief that he hadn't been seriously hurt swept over her briefly, but it was soon washed away by her hot temper and he finally noticed his wife seated on the living room couch, just staring cold daggers_ _at him and he realized she hadn't failed to notice the tattered state of his black shirt._

_"I can explain, honey," he said._

_She glared at him from the couch._

_"Don't bother!" she snapped._

_"Don't bother with what? My solo mission work?"_

_"Yes! Need I remind you that we've always been a team? Everything we've done over the years has been together."_

_"Hey, now! I'm not the one who put you on maternity leave."_

_"You might as well have, seeing as how you've been doing all mission work on your own while I've been shuttled off to the side!"_

_"You've five months pregnant, Kim! You really expect me to allow you to accompany me on missions?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Well, I can't. I refuse to let the lives of our unborn daughters or even your life be put at risk for what I've been asked to do."_

_"How can you stand there and expect me to just sit by and watch you put your life at risk? You're my husband and father of my twin daughters. I've spent many nights lying awake with the fear and worry that your lifeless body will be brought back to me in a body bag._ _I can't handle the thought of losing you," she said while tears flooded her jade eyes._


	8. Six Months Later

Seated beside her husband on their bed, a now six month pregnant Kim shifted her gaze away from the book she was currently reading and nestled up next to him, feeling his arm go around her shoulder as she did so and she smiled softly. Shortly after their last lovers' spat, he'd managed to arrange to have an entire month off from having to rush off on a last minute mission and spent three weeks out of his month long leave of absence catering to his pregnant wife's every whim. But now, with his month long absence ending in a week, both he and his wife were relishing every moment that they could spend together.

"Honey?" Kim asked gently.

"What?"

"I'll miss you when your month long absence ends next week."

He softly kissed her forehead.

"I know. And I'll miss you too."

Her head shifted from where it currently rested on his shoulder and her lips sought his, which he obliged by also turning his head so their lips could meet and held for several long seconds. Their lips slowly pulled away and Kim again rested her head against her husband's shoulder.

"You know, I'm glad our boss agreed to give you a month off to be home."

"Heh, yeah. You were, um, very insistent that she give me an entire month off. Remind me to never get into a strong armed match with you, honey."

Kim simply shrugged.

"She should have realized that messing with a pregnant redhead is never a good thing," she said.

"That's the woman I fell in love with enough to marry, honey."

"I can't believe the twins will arrive in three months," Kim added softly.


	9. A Sibling's Help

Gripping the stair rail, Kim carefully managed to make her way down the stairs, feeling for the next step with her right foot, given that she could no longer see past her now seven month pregnant belly.

_'Only two months until I can see my feet again,'_ she thought.

Her foot found the next step and she set her foot down on it, followed by her other foot. She had managed to get to the halfway point of the staircase, when one of her younger siblings poked his head around the stairwell and saw her halfway down the stairs. He was by her side instantly to help her down the remaining stairs, but she batted away his helpful hand.

"I can get myself down the stairs," she snapped.

"You may be my big sis, but you're two months away from bringing my fraternal twin nieces into the world. Besides, what if you slipped and fell? Your husband would have my hide not to mention having mom and dad be furious with me if you went into premature labor."

She grumbled a little at his insistence in guiding her down the rest of the stairs, but realized she was wrong to try and get down the stairs on her own. She met her little bro's gaze and gave him a small smile of thanks.

"I need to sit down," she said, one hand on her lower back.

She was helped into a chair by her little sib and let out a little moan of relief to be off her feet.

"I'll be so happy once this pregnancy is over with," she said softly.


	10. Kim's Nightmare

The pain induced scream of one of its patients echoed through the silent corridors of the hospital's maternity floor. Inside room 147, Kim struggled to push the first of her twin children out into the world. Her mom was positioned at the bottom of the hospital bed, ready to catch the first twin once it emerged.

"Come on, honey. Just a few more pushes and Ava will be out," her husband said from his place beside her.

She turned her head to look at him and gave him a pointed stare, which instantly told him just how much trouble he was going to be in soon.

"Honey, the next time you decide to get me knocked up with your offspring, you could try carrying a baby inside of you for nine months and then endure hours of painful contractions while waiting for the birth of said baby, not to mention spending several long moments pushing the baby out of you," she replied.

He gulped heavily at the veiled meaning behind her words and wisely kept his mouth shut. At the foot of the hospital bed, Kim's mom only shook her head at the conversation between her daughter and son in law.

_'How can two people who are perfect for each other bicker among themselves just as their oldest twin baby is about to make its debut into this life?'_ she asked herself silently.

She focused on the present task at hand and saw that her oldest grandbaby was starting to emerge.

"The baby's head is crowning, honey," she told her daughter.

Her daughter didn't answer, as another contraction surged through her, which caused her to both scream in pain and crush her husband's hand in a vice like grip. He let out a little squeak of pain, which went unnoticed by both his wife and mother in law, who were suddenly focused on the baby that hung half out of Kim's body. Mother and daughter looked at each other, subtle traces of worry and fear comingling in the pregnant young woman's eyes.

"Mom, is the baby stuck?"

"No. You just need to give me a final big push."

She did so and the first twin slid fully out, but there was no cry from the newborn infant. Kim looked at her husband, worry reflected in each other's eyes.

"Why isn't the baby crying, mom?"

Kim's question went unaswered, because her mom was busy clearing fluid from the baby's lungs, but it remained motionless. Finally, she looked up at her daughter and son in law.

"I'm sorry, but the first twin was stillborn..."

With a gasp, twenty four year old Kim's eyes flew open in the early morning sunlight and she felt the stirring of her unborn twin daughters in her eight month belly. A glance to her left revealed that her husband of three years was still completely asleep beside her. She lifted her left hand to again look at the gold wedding band that adorned her third finger and she realized just how complete her life was.

_'Best friends during our childhood and teenage years, a couple our last two years of high school and college sweethearts. Now we're happily married with twin daughters on the way. My life would have been utterly empty if I had failed to snag him the moment our views towards each other changed,'_ she thought wistfully.

She gave her thoughts pause as her gaze again drifted to her husband, only to see he was looking back at her. Each of them smiled before his right hand lifted from the sheets and gently rested on her heavily swollen belly.

"Only a few weeks left until our girls arrive, honey."

"Good, cause I don't think I can handle them being in my belly for longer then a few weeks."


	11. Two Weeks To Go

Two weeks after having the nightmare about losing one of their unborn twin daughters, Kim again lay awake in bed. Without taking her gaze off the bedroom ceiling, she voiced the single thought that had been on her mind during the last couple of weeks.

"I miss my job of being a globe trotting agent as well as being by your side."

"But our boss put you on maternity leave until the twins are born."

"I know, but the boredom of not working as a globe trotting agent is getting to me."

"Be patient a little bit longer, honey. The twins' due date is a couple of weeks away."

"Two weeks is too long a wait for me."

He raised himself on an elbow to look at her better.

"You know our boss wouldn't be too happy if you went right back to work shortly after the birth of our twin daughters," he said softly.

She didn't say anything as she considered his words.

"She'd tell me to wait until the girls were old enough to be left with either my parents or your parents before I returned to work, honey."

"Maybe you're right. But the twins wouldn't be allowed to come with us our missions once we start going on them together as a team."

"Agreed."


	12. Deliverly Day

Now nine months pregnant, Kim once again stood in front of the floor length mirror as she just stared at her huge baby bump. Her husband's reflection appeared behind her in the mirror and wrapped his arms around her heavily swollen belly. She leaned back into his embrace and found herself smiling at his unspoken message of love and devotion to her and their soon to be born twin daughters. Their moment of affection for one another was cut short by Kim feeling a sudden twinge of pain in her lower back and it traveled around to her belly.

She softly moaned while her left hand went to her heavily pregnant belly. Her husband had noticed the change in her facial expression, since both of them still faced the mirror and knew it was time for them to head to the hospital. The couple left the bedroom and made their way down the short hallway towards the living room and the front door, briefly pausing to grab the hospital bag before they were both out the front door and heading towards the car.

Once the couple were both in the car, he started it up and pulled out of the driveway before pointing the car in the direction of the hospital. During the drive to the hospital, Kim alternated between screaming out in pain from the contractions and cursing her husband for putting her in this position in the first place.

Line break

Once at the hospital, he parked the car and grabbed the hospital bag from the back seat before climbing out of the driver's seat. He slung the hospital bag over one shoulder as he rounded the car to the passenger side of the car in order to help his wife out of the car. He opened the passenger side door and helped her out of the car. Kim moaned and held her huge belly as her husband guided her through the electrical hospital doors and up to the nurses' station.

The nurse, who was currently present, looked up at the approaching couple.

"May I help you?" she asked.

"My wife and I need to head up to the maternity ward," the father to be blurted out.

A little taken aback by the father to be's outburst, the nurse pointed up the hallway towards the maternity ward and simply said "Second floor."

"Thank you. What about getting a wheelchair for my wife?"

"I can't leave my post at the front desk, but the wheelchairs are around the corner."

"Thanks. I'll be right back, hoeney," he said to first the nurse and then to his wife.

He left his wife's side and retrieved a wheelchair, into which he carefully lowered the heavily pregnant Kim before he wheeled her up the hallway to where the elevators were.

Line break

Once on the second floor of the hospital, the husband and wife paused at another nurse's station and asked where the maternity ward was. The nurse gave them very detailed directions to the maternity ward. They followed the nurse's directions and soon reached the maternity ward. Kim spotted one of her mom's colleagues, who smiled as they got closer.

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. S.," he said cheerfully to the expectant couple.

"Hello, Dr. Willis," Kim replied, only to wince from the sudden and painful contraction.

Seeing her wince, he glanced down at her heavily swollen belly and put two and two together.

"Delivering the twins today, eh? I'm sure your mom would like to be present for their birth. Let me page her really quick," he said as he walked away a few feet and picked up the phone.

As he did that, she remembered the nightmare she'd had and shrieked "No!"

Hearing her shriek of "No!", Dr. Willis paused and glanced over his shoulder at the young mother to be.

"Don't page my mom just yet. Get me to a hospital bed, Dr. Willis," she begged.

"Sure, Mrs. S.," he replied and put the phone back in its cradle.


	13. A Waiting Game

Kim, clad in a hospital gown, lay propped up against the pillows of the bed she currently occupied. Her gaze went to her husband, who sat in the chair alongside her hospital bed and gave him a slight smile. He returned hher smile and then her attention was diverted as both her mom and Dr. Willis entered the room.

"Hi, honey. Steve was just telling me how you wouldn't let me page me. Is this true?"

"Hi, mom. Yes, he was being honest with you about that."

"Why couldn't you have told me I'm gonna be a grandma today?"

"Because I would've hated pulling you away from a patient you might have had on the operating table, mom," Kim replied.

She watched her mom and Dr. Willis exchange looks and he shrugged before saying "Your daughter makes a good point."

Just at that point, Kim let out a little cry of pain from the contraction that had flooded through her, which caused her husband, mom and Dr. Willis to glance over at her.

"Ooh. That contraction hurt," she said.

"Well, you're in for several more hours of enduring painful contractions, honey," her mom replied.

Kim met her mom's gaze.

"I have to endure hours of painful contractions?"

"Yes. Both you and my son in law are in for hours of labor before the twins are born. Labor's been known to last up to two days, depending on the woman and her first pregnancy."

There was a dull thud and Kim and her mom both looked to see what the noise was, only to find that the father to be was currently lying on the floor of the hospital room, having passed out at hearing just how long labor lasted for a first time pregnancy.


	14. Introducing Ava Alison

Propped up against the pillows of her hospital bed, Kim had been in the first stage of labor for seven hours now. With her hands resting against her largely swollen belly, she shifted her gaze to her husband, who had just returned from the hospital's dining area. Both of them had been told to expect a long waiting period before the birth of their twin daughters. Suddenly overcome with a painfully intense contraction, Kim moaned in slight discomfort.

"Mmm. The contractions are becoming steadily more painful," she said once the contraction was over.

"You want me to have the nurse give you another shot of pain medication to ease your contractions?" her husband questioned.

"I think I'm due for another dose anyway, so please."

"Kay. Be right back," he told her as he left the room.

He returned after a few minutes, followed by a nurse.

"Your husband's just told me that your shot of pain medicine from earlier has worn off now and that you're experiencing more pain."

"Yes."

The nurse checked her pain medication iv, only to see that it still had some medication in the iv bag.

"You have plenty of pain medication in your iv bag, Mrs. S.," the nurse said.

"It's not working as well as it should, nurse. Please give me another shot of pain medication," Kim begged.

"Very well."

The nurse went to honor the mother to be's request and soon returned with a syringe and vial of pain medication.

"I'm going to give you an epidural, which will numb the pain of your contractions. Help lean your wife forward slightly," she said to the father to be.

He went to his wife's side and helped her lean forward a little. The nurse placed the tip of the needle against the mother to be's lower back and depressed the syringe so the pain medication entered the mother to be's body near the base of the spine. The moment the medication was given, Kim gave a sigh of relief as her painful contractions abated. She glanced over at the nurse, a smile on her face.

"Thank you. That helped big time," she said.

"Anytime, Mrs. S.," the nurse replied.

Line break

Kim spent the next few hours playing cards with her husband, sleeping or idly watching tv while waiting for the moment where she could hold her two daughters in her arms. Finally, after sixteen hours of labor, her mom said that she was ready to start pushing. With her feet propped up against two foot rests and her left hand clasped in her husband's right hand, Kim spent several long minutes bearing down as hard and as long as she could in between screams of pain. Ten minutes later, she fell back against the pillows as the first twin announced her arrival into the world with a piercing and loud wail.

"Twin number one is out.," her mom said before clamping the cord and cutting it with a pair of sterile scissors.

She then handed the wailing newborn to a nurse, who hurried off to clean up the newborn and examine it to make sure it was healthy.

"You might have to wait another five or ten minutes before the second twin arrives, honey," Kim's mom said, remembering having to go through the same thing nineteen years before with her sons.


	15. Welcoming Ivy Michelle

After ten minutes of enduring more contractions, Kim again held her husband's right hand in her left as she once more bore down with the contraction she was feeling in an effort to bring her second child into the world.

"You're doing fine, honey," her husband said.

Kim gritted her teeth and gave the biggest push that she could.

"The head's out," her mom said.

She looked down between her legs and saw a head full of dull red hair sticking out.

"You're nearly there, sweetie. I need another push and it'll cause the baby's shoulders to emerge, which will allow me to pull it out the rest of the way."

With a firm squeeze of her husband's hand, Kim did what her mom had requested and she was able to guide her second granddaughter out by the shoulders. She quickly suctioned out the fluid from her newborn grandadughter's lungs and the infant let out a loud shrieking wail before the cord was clamped off and cut with scissors.

Another nurse took the second newborn to be cleaned up and examined to ensure that she was as healthy as her twin sister.

Line break

After fifteen minutes of waiting to hold her twin children for the first time, Kim looked up as her mom and a nurse entered the room together, each holding a swaddled newborn infant. Her mom placed Ivy into her mom's arms while the nurse placed Ava into her dad's arms. The nurse left after placing Ava into her dad's arms, leaving Kim's mom alone in the hospital room with her daughter and son in law, who each held one of their daughters.

Looking down at Ivy in her arms, the young mother felt an overwhelming surge of love for her second born daughter wash over her and she gave her youngest child a soft smile.

"Hello, my precious Ivy Michelle," she said to the newborn infant.

Beside her in the chair, her husband was also enthralled with baby Ava and noticed that his oldest born daughter had gained his blonde hair, which covered her entire head. He glanced over at his exhausted yet delighted wife and knew she was as happy as he was about having two healthy twin girls.

"I wonder if Ava will have her mother's beautiful green eyes," he said softly.

She turned her head towards her husband.

"And maybe Ivy will have gained her daddy's brown eyes," she replied.

"Wait and see, honey."

"Yeah."

"Hopefully, Ava's current blonde hair will remain the same."

"It might."


	16. The Twins' Homecoming

After spending two weeks in the hospital following the birth of their fraternal twin daughters, Kim was being released from the hospital to go home with Ava and Ivy. Seated in the wheelchair that was being pushed by her husband, Kim found herself unable to take her gaze off of her twin newborn girls, who were currently nestled in either arm. The family of four soon reached the hospital parking lot and headed towards their car.

She carefully hoisted herself out of the wheelchair with some help from her husband and they both carefully placed their two week old girls into their carseats before Kim got into the backseat next to her two precious children while her husband got into the driver's seat and headed towards home with his three most precious girls in the backseat.

Line break

Once the family of four reached home, both parents got out of the car and carefully lifted their two daughters from their carseats before they all headed into the two story house together.


	17. Hubby's Year Off

Seated beside her husband on the couch in the living room, Kim looked down at her boss' face that was also looking out from the screen of the device on her right wrist.

"You're giving my husband a year off from the solo mission work he'd done for you over the past nine months?"

The woman on the tiny screen nodded.

"In the month since your two girls have been born, I think he's earned the time off to help you in raising your daughters," she said.

Her husband leaned over so his face replaced his wife's on the larger screen which was on the other end of the conversation.

"Thank you, ma'am," he said.

"You're welcome," she replied before pausing slightly.

"Congratulations on the safe arrival of your two girls," she added before the two way conversation ended.

Kim leaned against her husband, enjoying the brief moment of calm before one of the twins woke up and demanded to be fed or changed.

"An entire year off from doing solo mission work, dear," she said softly.

"Mmm. And when the twins start walking..."

Kim groaned.

"Don't ruin the moment, honey."

"Sorry, dear."


	18. Two Months Later

The sound of Ava's hungry cry drifted into the master bedroom from the nursery that was just down the hallway and the loud, insistent wail made Kim stir a little and get out of bed in order to attend to her oldest born daughter's demands of 'Feed me.'

She made her way down the hallway and entered the nursery after flicking on the nursery light so she could see and headed towards Ava's bassinet. Gently lifting up her first born daughter from the bassinet, Kim held her securely in her arms as she made her way over to the rocking chair. After taking a seat in the rocking chair, she used her free hand to undo a few of the buttons on her nightgown and hoisted baby Ava up so she could be within reach of her food source.

Ava's mouth closed around her present food source and began to eat with relish. As Ava continued to nurse, Kim leaned back in the rocker and reflected on the joy she'd experienced following the birth of Ava and Ivy.

Line break

Back in the bedroom he shared with his wife, he awoke at feeling Kim's absence from beside him and he rose from the bed before he headed down the hall to where Ava and Ivy's nursery was, only to pause at seeing his wife in the middle of feeding Ava, a look of contentment on her face as she gently swayed back and forth in the rocking chair.

He felt a wave of affection for both his wife and two girls wash over him. He was also relieved when their boss had allowed him a year off from his solo mission work in order to help his wife with raising their two girls. He knew that his wife would be ready for them to take on their mission work as a team again once the twins had celebrated their first birthday. He quietly left his place at the nursery entrance, not wanting to disturb his wife's moment of bonding with baby Ava.


	19. Four Months Later

Seated on the couch with baby Ivy sitting on her lap, Kim glanced over at her husband, who was presently propped up against the edge of the couch beside her and held baby Ava in his arms, which made her smile a little bit.

_'Hard to believe the twins are four months old now,' _ she thought to herself.

"Honey?" she asked.

"What?"

"Should we try for another baby?"

"Now?"

"No, not now. But in the next few years," she replied.

"Why do you want a third baby, Kim? Two should be plenty for us, don't you think?"

"I know. But you must hate being the lone man out, don't you? Wouldn't you like to have a son in your image?"

"As long as he gains your red hair, honey. But you know that pregnancies can't be controlled when it comes to the gender of the baby. If we do choose to have a third baby, you might have another girl, honey."

Kim sighed, realizing her husband was right.

"I know. Guess it was just wishful thinking on my part to have a third baby."

"Oh, no, honey. You deserve to have a third baby, but the twins are only four months old. It's a little bit early to consider having a third baby this soon. Besides, I'm not sure if we'll even have a boy when we do decide to have a third baby."

"Oh. Would you want a third baby, honey?"

"It'd be nice, but only if you want."

"Of course I'd want a third baby."

"Let's try in a year or two then."

"Deal."


	20. Time With The Grandparents

Holding a now five month old Ivy on her lap, Kim sat beside her husband on the couch at her parents' house, watching as her mom held baby Ava on her lap.

"It's hard to believe the twins are five months old now, honey," her mom said.

Kim sighed and resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"I know, mom. But you've spent as much time with the twins as you could," she replied.

Mother and daughter looked at each other before she gave her twenty four year old daughter a slight smile.

"I know. Still, I can't believe how big they're getting these days."

Kim shifted her gaze down to her second born daughter, whose gray blue eyes locked with her green ones.

"So, Kim, do you or my son in law know when Ava and Ivy will get your green and brown eyes?" her dad asked, who'd been silent up to that point.

"We won't know until they turn a year old, dad," Kim told him.

"I see," he said with a glance at his blue eyed wife.

Seeing her husband look over at her, Kim's mom blinked slightly.

"What?" she questioned

"Nothing, honey," he replied.

The twenty four year old couple only looked at each other and just shook their heads. Kim handed Ivy to her daddy before she rose from the couch and walked over to where her mom sat and took Ava from her grandma's arms to hold in her arms before she resumed her seat next to her husband.


	21. Spending Time With The Uncles

Once again seated on her parents' living room couch, Kim watched as her twin daughters spent some time bonding with their teenage uncles. She found herself wondering when her two bros would each find that special someone to settle down with and one day give Ava and Ivy cousins, but then she realized they were still in college. A sudden thought occured to her and she didn't pause to voice it.

"So, have you two met anyone special while you've been away at college?" she asked them both.

They just looked at her before turning their focus back to their twin nieces.

"Well? Someone answer my question."

"I do have a tentative girlfriend," one of her bros said.

Kim gave a small smile.

"Who is she?"

"Her name's Eve Johnson."

"Have mom and dad met her yet?"

"Not yet. I don't know if it'll be a long term thing yet, big sis."

"Oh."

She turned to her other bro.

"And what about you? Any special girl for you?"

He shook his head.

"Why are you even interested in who we're dating or not dating anyway?"

"It's my job as your big sis."

"Sure. You just want cousins for Ava and Ivy someday."

Kim blinked, slightly startled by her red garbed sib being able to correctly guess what she was thinking.

"I knew that's what you were thinking about," he cried.

"I deserve to be an aunt one of these days."

"But we're only nineteen. We're not ready for wives and kids," her green garbed sib added.

"Right. I forgot you're only nineteen. Sorry."


	22. Halfway Point To The Twins' First Year

From her spot on the couch, Kim watched as her now six month old twin girls busied themselves with crawling around on the living room floor. Part of her wondered if and when they'd start to show signs of having gotten some of their daddy's powers or not. At six months, she hadn't yet noticed anything different about them. Her inner musings were disrupted by her husband taking a seat next to her on the couch and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, which caused her to lean against him with her hand resting on his chest before she placed her head on top of his shoulder as they both watched their two girls.

"Hard to believe the girls are half a year old now, honey," he said.

"I know. They're getting bigger with each passing day."

"Do you think they'll ever show signs of having gotten my powers yet, honey?"

"I haven't seen much of a sign that proves they have."

"Oh."

"Would it bother you if they never show signs of having recieved your powers, dear?"

"I guess not. But it would be nice if at least one twin showed some sort of sign that she has."

The couple's conversation was cut short by Ava crawling over to them and their gazes went to their oldest born child. Leaning forward, Kim lifted her off the floor and placed her onto her lap while her husband noticed that Ivy was no longer in the living room, so he got up from the couch to go find his second born daughter.

He soon found her in the dining room, only to pause at seeing a familiar blue glow around her body as she sat with her back to him, a glow that slowly faded as he watched. He smiled slightly with pleasure at the sight and picked her up before he headed back to his wife and eldest daughter, who were still seated in the living room. Kim looked up as her husband came back into the living room with baby Ivy in his arms.

"Found Ivy in the dining room."

"What was she doing there?"

"Oh, just doing something that most babies her age wouldn't do," he said.

She lifted an eyebrow.

"Such as?"

"I found her surrounded by the same thing that her daddy would have surrounding him when his powers were in use," he replied.

The implied meaning behind what he'd just said dawned on Kim and her eyes widened.

"Really?"

He nodded.

"Well, it looks as if Ivy's for sure following in her daddy's footsteps, then."

"Mmm. She is, indeed."


	23. One Month Later

Seven month old Ava's eyes looked up into her daddy's brown eyes while her mommy's green eyes gazed down into her twin's eyes, which matched her current eye color. Both parents found themselves wondering how long they had to wait for Ava's present eye color to change from their color of gray blue so they would match her mom's green eyes and they also hoped that Ivy's gray blue eyes would change to match her dad's brown eyes.

In the seven months since their birth, Ava's hair had remained blonde while Ivy's stayed a dull red. Before too long, the couple switched places, so Kim now stood in front of Ava's crib and her husband stood over baby Ivy's crib for a few minutes before they moved away from the bassinets their daughters lay in and left the nursery together, his arm draped across her shoulder as they headed down the second floor hallway to their bedroom. Once in their bedroom, Kim took a seat on the bed and looked up at her husband.

"Ever since I found out I was pregnant with the twins, I've had this fear that all the bad guys we've gone up against in the last several years will find some way to use our two girls as a means to retaliate against us for all the times we've ruined their plans," she said softly.

He took a seat beside her on the bed and took her hand in his.

"If they do somehow take our girls, we'll do all we can to get them back."

"Am I being silly about this whole thing?"

"Of course not, honey. You're a mom now and you're just doing what any other mom would do if they were in your place."

She leaned against him.

"You're right, honey. Thanks."

He kissed her forehead.

"You're welcome."


	24. Three Months Later

Ivy's shrill scream drifted out into the hallway of the second floor from the nursery she shared with her older twin, which caused Kim to run into the room and scoop up her youngest daughter from the crib and held her close.

"Shush, Ivy. Your sister's sleeping," she gently scolded the ten month old.

In the three months since they'd discovered that Ivy had indeed gotten her daddy's powers, her husband had been attempting to get the ten month old to further display more of her latent powers, but he'd been unable to keep her focus on what he was trying to teach her, which had led Kim to gently tell her husband that he had Ivy's entire life to teach her how to harness her dormant powers.

With Ivy in her arms, Kim headed downstairs to the first floor. She was the only one home, due to her husband having gone off to the store for more baby food. She was expecting him home soon. Once downstairs, she set Ivy down on the carpeted floor so she could crawl around and headed into the kitchen while keeping an eye on her youngest child.

She picked up the baby monitor that was usually in the kitchen when she or her husband were in there and made her way into the living room. Ivy, who was still crawling around on the floor, made her way over to where Kim stood.

"There's mommy's little girl," she cooed to her daughter as she set down the baby monitor on the coffee table before bending over and picking up Ivy from the floor, unaware that she was being spied on.

Line break

Outside of the two story house, a shadowed yet curvy figure stood across the street and watched the young mother inside the house through binoculars.

"You sure it's her?" a voice asked from the earpiece she had.

"Positive. She's got a brat with her. Should I snatch the brat now?"

"No. We have plenty of time for that. So, she gave birth to the idiot's offspring?"

"Looks like it. Maybe she only had one baby."

"No. She had twins, according to what we were able to gather."

"Why are we kidnapping one of the idiot's offspring?"

"Because one twin has the same powers her daddy has. That's the twin I want."

"Why not just kidnap both?"

"Because I don't need both twins."

"How long do you plan to wait until you're able to kidnap the second twin?"

"Very soon. For now, we don't do anything to bother the young couple and their two children."

The shadowy and curvy figure walked away, not noticing the car pulling into the driveway and the young man who had been driving it shut off the engine and got out before he grabbed the bag of baby food jars.


	25. Date Night And A Kidnapping Part One

Kim, who was already clad in a strapless black dress, looked at her reflection in the vanity mirror that she sat at as she put on some earrings. Her husband stood in the doorway, watching her as she finished putting on her second earring and grabbed her purse before she rose from the vanity.

"Wow. You look beautiful, honey," he said.

"Thanks. Let's get downstairs and join our babysitters for tonight."

She walked by her husband on her way out of the bedroom and they both headed downstairs.

"Why did you ask your brothers to babysit the girls tonight?"

"Because they barely get to spend much time with their two nieces," she replied.

"Oh."

"And because I trust them with Ava and Ivy. Besides, we were way overdue for a date night, honey."

They soon reached the main floor and entered the living room, where their ten month old girls waited with their two babysitters.

"You owe us big time for this date night with our brother in law, big sis," her red garbed sib said.

"I know. I can't thank you two enough for agreeing to watch Ava and Ivy tonight."

Kim knelt down so she was face to face with her two girls.

"Be good girls for your uncles, ok? Mommy and daddy will be back soon," she said to them.

She rose to her feet again.

"You know our cell numbers. We won't be any later then ten thirty or eleven."

"We know what to do, big sis. Go have fun with your husband on your date night. We can handle the twins."

The husband and wife left the house together and headed towards the car before they climbed in and he started the car up. He then drove away from the house, neither one noticing the two shadowed forms that stood beneath the treeline across the street from their house.

The first of the two shadowed forms stepped forward towards the house, revealing a dark blue garbed man whose gaze lingered on the two story house in front of him. Behind him, his companion spoke from the treeline, her slender form barely visble among the shadows.

"You sure they're not home?" she asked in a slightly bored voice.

"Positive. The idiot and his wife have left their twin girls with a babysitter."

"Babysitters, don't you mean?"

"What?"

"She asked her two bros to do the babysitting tonight."

He looked back at her and remembered the last time he'd dealt with them and he grimaced.

"I've been trying to forget that moment."

"Well, if you plan to kidnap the idiot's twin female offspring, you're gonna have to get past their uncles first."


	26. Date Night And A Kidnapping Part Two

Inside the two story house, both of Kim's twin bros were currently unaware that they'd have to try and prevent their fraternal twin nieces from being kidnapped or that one of them would be slightly wounded while defending their nieces. They were in the middle of playing peek a boo with Ava and Ivy, when the front door being kicked open made them pause in their present round of peek a boo and they glanced over, only to see the slender and curvy black haired woman standing in front of the now ruined front door while her companion entered the house behind her. They glanced at each other as if to say 'What are they doing here?'

"Hand over the two little girls and neither of you will get hurt," the blue garbed newcomer said.

The two nineteen year old boys both stood up.

"What do you want with our nieces?"

"That's for me to know."

The ebony haired woman's hands lit up as she looked at the two teenage boys.

"Hand over your nieces to us and this can be settled without much damage to you."

"Not a chance."

"Fine. Have it your way," the blue garbed man said with a glance at his companion.

But before she could charge at the two nineteen year olds, they each scooped up one of their nieces and headed up the stairs to the second floor, followed by the slender woman. The two teens headed towards their nieces' nursery and gently placed them into the same crib.

They stood with their backs to their nieces, while their gazes remained on the doorway and the woman who had just entered the nursery. Her hands lit up again as she approached the twin nineteen year old boys.

"No one needs to get hurt here. All I want is your two nieces."

"No way."

Thinking quickly, they again took their two nieces from the crib and each swerved around the ebony haired woman and headed down the stairs, but they skidded to a halt at seeing the weapon being aimed at them by the man who wielded it.

"Unless you hand over the two girls in your arms, I'm not afraid to use this on the two of you."

"What does that even do?"

In reply, the blue garbed man aimed the weapon towards an area of the couch and fired it. There was a slight pop and a hole was burned into the back of the couch. He aimed it back at the two teens.

"Now, hand over your nieces or I make a hole be burned into one of you."

"No."

"Have it your way."

He looked past the two nineteen year olds. There was a flash of green and one of the two boys cried out a little from the sudden pain and stumbled slightly, but didn't loosen his hold on Ava. Taking advantage of the teen's distracted state, the older man strode forward and wrestled baby Ava from her red garbed uncle's arms. She took a glance at the older man who now had her in his arms and let out a loud wail.

His companion snatched Ivy from the arms of her green garbed uncle and they both ran from the house with their wailing twin captives.

Line break

Presently unaware that her two girls had been kidnapped or that her red garbed sib had been slightly wounded, Kim had just taken a bite of her meal when her cell phone beeped, which often meant she had a text message. She dug through her purse for her cell phone and she silently read the text message. As she continued reading, her eyes widened, which her husband noticed.

"What's wrong?"

"We've got to get home, now," she said as she rose from the table and hurried out of the restraurant, leaving her meal half eaten.

Her husband quickly paid for their half eaten meals before he too hurried out to where she waited in the car for him. Getting into the driver's seat, he pulled out of the parking lot and pointed the car towards their house. Once they reached their house, he had barely brought the car to a complete stop before Kim got out of the passenger side and hurried towards the front door, which they both noticed had been kicked inwards and went into the house.

Once inside the house, she noticed that her green garbed sib was tending to the scratch wound on her red garbed sib's back. Her gaze drifted past them to the burn hole that was on the back of the living room couch.

"What happened? Where are Ava and Ivy?"

Her red garbed sib explained what had happened while his sib patched up his wound. As she and her husband listened to what had happened, she felt a mixture of fear and fury while her husband just felt anger over the kidnapping of their two girls.


	27. Rescuing Ava and Ivy

Having snuck into the cliff top building, Kim and her husband carefully made their way down the corridors, following the wails of their girls, which were steadily growing louder as they neared the room where their girls were being held. The young couple paused before they could be spotted by their daughters' kidnappers.

"How are we going to get our daughters back without being seen, honey?" her husband asked.

"We won't be able to avoid being spotted by our girls' two kidnappers," she replied.

He groaned, realizing what she intended for him to do.

"You mean, I have to go in there first?"

"You always were good in distracting the baddies, honey. I'll come in right after you and I'll grab the girls."

"If I didn't love you so much, I'd resent being used as a means to distract Ava and Ivy's kidnappers."

She placed a gentle hand on his cheek and their lips met briefly.

"This is why we work so well as a duo, honey. Ready?"

His eyes, which Ivy's current eye color would change to, looked into his wife's emerald eyes and he gave a small nod before he ran into the room. The moment he entered the room, his daughters' two kidnappers both looked up and the slender woman ran after him, hands alight and her companion just watched while never leaving his spot near where Ava and Ivy sat, their gazes also on their daddy, who was trying to stay out of range of his pursuer's lit up hands.

Kim cautiously entered the room and made her way towards her girls while keeping an eye on the older man. Finally, he turned his back on Ava and Ivy, which allowed their mom to silently scoop a twin up and tuck them beneath each arm before she quietly backed out of the room. Seeing his wife successfully leave the room with their two daughters, the currently pursued young man ran out of the room to join his wife and two girls. Once she was joined by her husband, Kim handed Ava over to her daddy and the young couple hurried down the hallway from their daughters' two kidnappers, each holding a twin in their arms.


	28. The Twins' First Birthday

The sound of Ava's cry drifted into the room shared by Kim and her husband. Even though two months had passed since they had rescued their daughters, the young couple had feared that another kidnapping attempt would befall the twins. As a result, one or both of them had remained home with Ava and Ivy. Most of the time, it was Kim who stayed home. She was aware that with the twins' first birthday, came her husband's return to his solo mission work, something he was dreading, since it meant that his wife was often left alone with the girls.

Getting out of bed, Kim made her way down to the nursery and walked in, only to see that Ava was standing up in her crib, tiny hands gripping the top of the crib. Leaning over, she lifted Ava up and held her against her hip as she left the nursery. As she looked at Ava, Kim suddenly noticed that Ava's blue gray eyes had changed to green.

_'Ava got my eyes after all,' _ she thought, pleased.

She wondered about Ivy's eye color, but then she realized that if Ava had gotten her green eyes, Ivy had gained her daddy's brown eyes. She returned to her bedroom, Ava still on her hip.

"There's daddy, sweetie," she said to Ava as the two females approached the bed where her husband still slept.

Hearing his wife's voice, the young man opened his eyes.

"Happy birthday, darling Ava," he said.

Kim blinked.

"It's the twins' first birthday today?"

"Yes. Today's September 14th, honey."


	29. Of First Steps and Ivy's First Word

Cradling a now year old Ivy on her hip, Kim made her way into the living room, only to see her husband kneeling in front of Ava, who was seated a few feet away from him.

"Uh, honey, what are you doing?" she asked, noticing the look of slight doubt on Ava's face.

"Encouraging Ava to walk over to me," he replied.

"She doesn't seem so thrilled about it."

"Trust me. She'll start walking soon."

"I don't think she's ready yet."

"Just watch. Ava, honey, come to daddy," he said as he held out his arms towards the one year old.

Kim watched as Ava got to her feet by grabbing onto the edge of the couch and pulled herself to her feet before letting go and tottering unsteadily over to where her daddy knelt down. Once she reached her dad, his arms went around her small form.

"Way to go, Ava. Your first steps," he said softly.

"What a big girl you are, Ava," Kim added as she joined her husband and first born daughter, still cradling Ivy on her hip.

The one year old girl glanced over at her mom, her green eyes locking with Kim's own jade eyes.

"I wonder if Ivy will also take her first steps today," Kim said as she set Ivy down and walked over to her husband before she knelt down alongside him and held out her arms.

"Ivy, baby, come to mommy," she said.

Like her sister, Ivy also got to her feet unsteadily and slowly crossed the living room in halting steps towards Kim's outstretched arms. Once in her mom's arms, Ivy's brown eyes looked into Kim's jade eyes. Her mouth opened and closed for a few seconds before she said her first word.

"Mama?" she asked in her baby voice.

Kim, whose eyes shimmered with happy tears, exchanged a glance with her husband. He had a huge smile on his face as his gaze went to Ivy.

"Her first word, honey," he murmured.


	30. Two Years Later

The sound of a little girl's giggle echoed through the halls of the two story house. Three year old Ava had decided to play run away and escape capture with her mother. Twenty seven year old Kim tried to grab her daughter after getting within arm's reach of the three year old, but Ava squirmed out of Kim's reach.

"Ava Alison, you will stop this game this instant, little lady," she growled as she put on a burst of speed and finally managed to grab the three year old by the arm.

Thr three year old girl's green eyes locked with her mom's own green eyes and saw the stern look that Kim knew was clearly evident on her face. She gently pulled Ava towards her and hugged her oldest twin daughter.

"Let's go see what daddy and Ivy are doing, Ava," she said to her first born fraternal twin daughter as she rose to her feet and headed down the hallway towards the kitchen, Ava propped against her hip.

Entering the kitchen, Kim saw that her second daughter, Ivy, was currently seated on the kitchen sink and happily dipping her finger into the bowl beside her and putting it in her mouth. Kim smiled slightly before her gaze shifted to her husband, who was unaware of what Ivy was doing behind his back, given that he was currently standing at the stove.

"Something smells good, dear," she said softly.

He glanced over his shoulder at her and Ava and gave both her and their oldest daughter a small smile before he finally noticed what Ivy had been up to. His eyes widened as he briefly left his spot at the stove and grabbed the bowl of sauce that had been next to Ivy.

The three year old immediately burst into loud, wailing cries once the bowl had been taken away and Kim, who had placed Ava on the floor, rushed towards her second daughter and picked her up before she and Ivy left the kitchen, followed by Ava toddling after them. Left alone in the kitchen, he watched his wife and twin girls walk off, Ivy's loud sobs slowly fading to a lower volume as she was carried farther away from the kitchen.


End file.
